Characteristic volatile compounds of white tea with different storage times using E‐nose, HS–GC–IMS, and HS–SPME–GC–MS

This paper studied the influence of storage duration on the flavor profile of white tea in detail, with samples produced between 2020 and 2023. Sensory evaluation was performed by quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA), followed by an in-depth aroma components analysis employing an electronic nose (E-nose), headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry (HS-GC-IMS), and headspace solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). The QDA findings revealed a gradual transition in the flavor profile of white tea during storage, shifting from sweet, fruity, and floral to more herbal and stale characteristics. E-nose could well distinguish white tea with different storage times. A total of 55 and 53 volatile compounds were identified by HS-GC-IMS and HS-SPME-GC-MS, respectively. The orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis models, based on HS-GC-IMS (R²Y = 0.998, Q² = 0.987) and HS-SPME-GC-MS (R²Y = 0.984, Q² = 0.993), successfully distinguished white tea samples stored for different storage times. Furthermore, 14 and 8 key compounds were screened based on the double variable criterion of one-way analysis of variance (p < 0.05) and variable importance in projection (VIP) >1.2, and their content changes were also compared. It is the gradual decrease of important aroma components such as 2-hexenal, 2-methyl-2-hepten-6-one, linalool, and geraniol, which are positively correlated with sweet, fruity, and floral aromas, and the gradual increase of hexanoic acid, thiophene, propanoic acid, dimethyl disulfide, and borneyl acetate, which are positively correlated with herbal and stale flavor, that leads to the changes in flavor and aroma of white tea during storage. The results of the study provided a reference for elucidating the aroma characteristics of white tea at different storage times as well as a theoretical basis for the quality control of white tea.